For many years dart game targets have been of the kind employing a circular, mat-like body having a spider composed of concentric circular and radial wire strands overlying the body and dividing the target surface into a plurality of areas having various score values. Darts have been provided for use with such targets and such darts have been equipped with sharp, metal tips that can be embedded in the target. The wire strands of the spider have been of relatively small diameter, thereby offering little likelihood that a dart tip will rebound as a result of striking the spider.
More recently, electronically scored dart games have become popular. Such games utilize darts having flexible, plastic tips and a target composed of displaceable target sections having closely spaced openings in their outer surfaces for the accommodation of a dart tip. A typical dart and target of this kind are disclosed in Jones et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,057,251.
In all of the known dart games employing flexible, or so-called soft tipped darts, the target is composed of a plurality of individual target sections maintained in assembled relation by means of a spider-like retainer having circular and radial dividers or ribs. The target sections overlie a base and between the base and the target sections is an electrical switch. The target sections are biased in a direction away from the base so that, whenever a thrown dart strikes a target section, the latter is displaced toward the base a distance sufficient to operate the associated switch and actuate a scoring mechanism. Since the target sections are biased in a direction away from the base, some means must be provided to limit their movement away from the base while, at the same time, enabling sufficient movement toward the base to effect operation of the switches.
In the known target constructions the circular and radial ribs of the retaining spider have smooth divider walls accommodated between adjacent sections and each such wall terminates at its outer edge in a barb-like extension which overlies the edges of the adjacent target sections and therefore limits the extent of movement of such sections away from the base under the influence of the biasing means. Since some portion of each target section underlies the retaining barb of the rib, a relatively wide space necessarily exists between the outer or exposed surfaces of adjacent target sections in which the tip of the dart cannot be accommodated in an opening of either section. Consequently, the tip of a dart striking the retaining barb either rebounds, resulting in a miss, or is deflected to one side or the other of the barb.
Because of the width of the retaining barbs, it is desirable to taper the exposed outer surface thereof. Normally, the outer surface tapers from its center toward both opposite edges. To avoid excessive projection of the barbs beyond the outer faces of the target sections, the included angle between a barb's tapering surfaces is relatively large. Thus, when a dart tip strikes a barb, the tip will be deflected. On occasions the angle of deflection may be such that the dart tip is unable to enter a tip-accommodating opening, thereby resulting in a miss.
Since it is desirable to minimize as much as possible the space between adjacent target sections, the spider walls of conventional constructions inwardly of the retaining barbs have been made quite thin. The larger difference in thickness between the barbs and the spider walls, however, can result in an inwardly concave warping of the spider which, unless counteracted, can result in the presence of an inconsistent clearance between a target section and the biasing means or no such clearance at all. Since the sole retaining means for target sections of such conventional constructions constitutes the overlying barb-like retainers at the exposed ends of the spider ribs, warpage can cause forces to be exerted on the target sections which will either prevent free movement of such sections toward and away from the base, or cause excessive clearance or looseness of such sections with resulting imperfect scoring.
A principal objective of the present invention is to provide a target construction adapted for use with soft tipped darts and electronic scoring mechanisms and which overcomes the disadvantages of previously known constructions.